Sturbridge traffic stop brings charges for 'stunt driver'

Thursday

Jan 30, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Kim Ring TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

STURBRIDGE — A New York actress who's portrayed both a cop and prisoner avoided a real-life experience behind bars, but she will be summoned to court to face charges involving her alleged attempt to flee Dec. 3 when a state trooper stopped her on Interstate 84.

Anita Storr, 63, of 232 E. 78th St., New York, allegedly told the state trooper who stopped her as she drove a damaged Fiat slowly along the highway that she's "played better cops" than him in her television and movie roles. Her resume lists her as a stunt driver in the movie "Cargo."

Ms. Storr is to be arraigned Feb. 25 in Dudley District Court on charges of leaving the scene of a property damage accident, failing to stop for a police officer and negligent driving. She was also issued a civil citation for a marked lanes violation. She has had small parts in television series, including "Ugly Betty," and a few movies, such as the 2012 Adam Sandler film, "That's My Boy," in which her uncredited role is listed on Internet Movie Database as a prisoner.

According to court documents, Trooper Jason E. Trout was monitoring eastbound traffic on I-84 about 5 a.m. Dec. 3, when a trucker told him an erratic driver was headed toward them. As the men were talking, the car, a 2013 Fiat, passed and the truck driver pointed it out.

Trooper Trout followed the car for about a half-mile and noticed it was going 35 to 40 mph where the speed limit was 65 mph, he wrote in his report. He noted the car was being driven "in a serpentine pattern," swaying from lane to lane.

When he stopped the car, the driver did not pull into the breakdown lane but instead stayed in the travel lane and put the car in park, he wrote. When he asked her to pull over into the breakdown lane, she stepped on the gas pedal, revving the car until the trooper explained she needed to put the car in drive first, the report states.

When the trooper told her another motorist had complained about her poor driving, she said, "That's nonsense," and told him she was headed to Boston, where she was working for a production company filming a movie. The report states the trooper did not smell alcohol, nor was the driver slurring her speech, though she told him she does take medication for a thyroid condition.

The Fiat had damage from the front quarter to the rear that had caused "structural and mechanical damage" which prevented the door from closing properly, the trooper wrote. Ms. Storr said the damage was caused by someone hitting her.

When Trooper Trout returned to his cruiser to gather more information about the vehicle, Ms. Storr allegedly drove off, and he followed her for about 3 miles using the blue lights, siren and air horn to urge her to pull over as she tried to close the broken door, he wrote.

The Fiat left the highway and got on Route 20 headed east, and Ms. Storr pulled in at an XtraMart gas station, where "she narrowly missed striking the gas pump and (Trooper Trout's) cruiser." He took her keys from her as she indicated she believed he was providing an escort to the gas station, according to police. The trooper warned her several times not to put fuel into the damaged car, which he was planning to have towed, as it was unsafe to drive.

The Fiat is registered to James L. Moskovitz of Long Beach, N.Y. He appears to have directed the 1988 film "Grand Slam: A Bases Loaded Celebration of Baseball hosted by Dick Schaap."

A clerk magistrate at Dudley District Court found probable cause to summon Ms. Storr to face the charges. She has hired Quincy lawyer George C. McMahon and is slated to appear for arraignment Feb. 25.

Contact Kim Ring at kring@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimmring